@article {Moraes75, author = {Eliane Robert Moraes}, title = {Um vasto prazer, quieto e profundo}, volume = {46}, number = {1}, pages = {75--92}, year = {2009}, doi = {10.1353/lbr.0.0049}, publisher = {University of Wisconsin Press}, abstract = {The description of the torture of a rat, in the short story {\textquotedblleft}A causa secreta{\textquotedblright} by Machado de Assis, can seem timid in comparison to the scenes of torment narrated by the Marquis de Sade. However, a close reading reveals the essential conditions for an outbreak of a mysterious form of pleasure that is normally associated with the character of the {\textquotedblleft}sadist{\textquotedblright}. Such a reading becomes even more surprising on the discovery that the protagonist{\textquoteright}s sadism assumes much more realistic contours than the unconceivable images of cruelty presented by Sade. This article intends to compare the two authors, proposing a dialogue between an aesthetic dimension (realism) and an ethic one (the evil), in order to offer an interpretation of the story by Machado de Assis.}, issn = {0024-7413}, URL = {https://lbr.uwpress.org/content/46/1/75}, eprint = {https://lbr.uwpress.org/content/46/1/75.full.pdf}, journal = {Luso-Brazilian Review} }